The team cannot score on the power play, Abdelkader still plays WITH DATSYUK, and Tatar goes down.

Trade deadline's coming up and our "big deal" will be Helm coming back. Money to spend, holes to fill...and a whole lot of jack shit to show for it. Everyone's talking about the need for a top four defenseman? Really? No. We don't need that.

We need a scorer, or we need a Datsyuk. Well, I mean, we have one. But we need one who's not being wasted. JFC. This is unbearable.

The dirty road beckons. It's filthy and twisty turny and the Wings can't score there, much less win. So what do we do? Send down Tatar.

Posted by
Vladimir16
from Grand River Valley on 03/12/13 at 11:52 AM ET

The move made no sense to me.. at all. Unless he is without question going to put Nyquil with Magic and either wasteful or useless.. it really makes no sense. Sauce was doing his thing on the third line. Nyquil cannot do the same.

Nyquist will need a few games to adjust to NHL level (again), and I’m afraid, he gets put on bottom-6, given the whole 7.75 minutes/game and Uncle mike is shaking his head telling the wordl: “See? He is not ready”

Tatar earned this one, clearly he should have scored on both shifts he had on Pav’s line. I mean look at the 2 dynamic scoring machines on Pav’s wing now.
Good grief this is maddening. The 3rd line has been our best lately, I guess Mike needs to tone it down to make the top 2 lines look better.

Posted by
MOWingsfan19
from I really like our team on 03/12/13 at 12:18 PM ET

Obviously, the hope is that the roster decisions to deal with the plethora of injuries attributed to various reasons (aggressive schedule, age, durability, stigmas, players put into precarious positions to compensate for the worst roster the franchise has put on the ice in 22 years, etc) have a goal/vision/meaning behind them.

One can also hope that those decisions fit into a broader destination that the franchise has in mind with regards to what they are attempting to achieve this season and beyond.

Since July 30, 2008 when Bowman left I have approached each trade deadline and free agency period with the expectation that the vision will become transparent as it was from 1992-2008.

I still have reason to believe that can happen based on Illitch and Jimmy D but I do wonder how much longer they can let this go on.

Getting so tired of Babcock’s coaching. Watch Nyquist will be on the 4th line or some horsesh*t. Abs has done NOTHING to warrant being on that second line or even sniffing a minute of PP time. I’m taking a few games off. Pointless to watch when the coach just refuses to face reality.

Per Kahn: To keep their roster at 23 players they had to send someone down and wanted to keep Andersson up.

Posted by
Vladimir16
from Grand River Valley on 03/12/13 at 12:28 PM ET

Oops…. *Khan*

Posted by
Vladimir16
from Grand River Valley on 03/12/13 at 12:28 PM ET

Posted by Sneetch on 03/12/13 at 12:19 PM ET

Holland gave Abs a big pay raise last summer and the word from RW camp and some of the press that covers him was that Abs deserved it based on great summer play somewhere on this planet.

Personally, I didn’t have a problem with Abs coming back if he was going to be a fourth line regular and compensated as such, the problem was we already had over two lines of forwards that fit that profile.

All of that said, I don’t fault Babcock one bit for slotting Abs as high as he has given the lack of size on this roster, he’s working with the parts that have been given to him while ensuring that the pecking order of happiness in the locker room is in check.

I saw somewhere (George?) that they didn’t want Nyquist up unless he was going to play in the top six. Therefore, since Nyquist is up, that must mean that either Abs or Cleary is going down to the 3rd line, right?

God I hope you’re right. Abs, Cleary, and Dats has run its course. If the reason for keeping Almost Abby in the second line is for his size (which at 6’1 220 isnt really all that big) I’d rather see Emmerton or Andersson. We all now know the limits of Justin’s game.

I saw somewhere (George?) that they didn’t want Nyquist up unless he was going to play in the top six. Therefore, since Nyquist is up, that must mean that either Abs or Cleary is going down to the 3rd line, right?

Yep, I’m with ya on all accounts bro including your sentiments on the initial observation I so poorly conveyed about Abs and roster slotting.

We all know Mr. I has his eyes on the old english D, hopefully Jimmy D is still involved in some capacity because this situation can’t manifest much longer before this franchise slips to the bottom half of the league as a regular fixture.

I’ve never been a fan of getting rah rah about a half-commitment to winning in sports; in particular when your team is on the other side of the equation where you have won but are losing control of shepherding the attributes that made you a winner in the first place.

It drove me nuts watching us the past few years bungling away at least one if not two more cups based on those sentiments. My expectations were dead after last summer and needless to say, I enjoy sitting down every night to watch this team with zero expectations.

I still think we have one of the best coaches in the league and the fact that this team can play a tight checking defensive game with a roster filled with guys being asked to do more than they ever have in their career. I miss the days of expecting elite level output, but am resigned until Mr. I and Jimmy D lead me to believe otherwise.

I can’t be arsed to care all that much about stuff like this anymore. Do line-up machinations and other relatively pointless minutiae really matter at this point?

Does anyone honestly believe that this team has any chance of doing anything if they somehow fall ass-backward into the playoffs, other than being curb-stomped in the first round?

This season is a write off. The Wings just need to do what they can to start building a better team. Be sellers at the deadline. Don’t be afraid to make major changes. The team as it stands now, injuries or otherwise, is fundamentally flawed.

This season is a write off. The Wings just need to do what they can to start building a better team. Be sellers at the deadline. Don’t be afraid to make major changes. The team as it stands now, injuries or otherwise, is fundamentally flawed.

It was bound to happen. Accept it and move on.

Posted by

Mandingo

from The Garage on 03/12/13 at 01:02 PM ET

+19. Suck for Seth. If a cold, hard, analytical look at the team does not yield a decent chance of winning the Cup, then the best thing for any franchise is to miss the playoffs and get more talent through the draft lottery.

This season is a write off. The Wings just need to do what they can to start building a better team. Be sellers at the deadline. Don’t be afraid to make major changes. The team as it stands now, injuries or otherwise, is fundamentally flawed.

Should Tick Tock move on, then, and let the Jim Nill era commence. I mean, I thought the lifelong speculation was that Tick Tock was gonna retire when Nick did. Well? Stocking a team with 7 or 8 bottom 6 forwards might mean you’re getting tired of the game.

Posted by
NIVO
from underpants gnome village on 03/12/13 at 01:19 PM ET

I’ll be damned if I know what Babs sees in Downton Abby other than some size and some grit. However those attributes are more for 3rd or 4th line players unless they show some scoring ability. Nyquil up, Sauce down. Pavel with a plow on one side and an anchor on the other. To use a football analogy… when the other team is much bigger than you you use small, quick players to run an up-tempo game. You can’t hit what you can’t catch. As someone mentioned earlier, it seems to be working for the Canadiens playing in a much more grinding, physical Conference.

Posted by
calquake
from a.k.a. Uniquake, workin' on my manifesto on 03/12/13 at 01:22 PM ET

Posted by Mandingo from The Garage on 03/12/13 at 01:02 PM ET

Preach on, Dingo-Man.

I wish I had any photoshop skills. Because…

Whenever I see this:

I can’t help but think of this:

Posted by
VooX
from Behind the Bar in the Hasek Club Car on 03/12/13 at 01:24 PM ET

Emmerton’s staying up. Tatar goes down.

Not sure what one thing has to do with the other. Would it be better if Tatar stayed up was playing on the fourth line or would that miss the point of having him on the roster even more than him playing on the third line misses the point?

What does drafting first overall mean if they’re going to stick him in f*cking Grand Rapids until he’s old enough to rent a car?

Posted by

Garth

on 03/12/13 at 01:30 PM ET

That was the Wings MO when they were stacked with talent on the big club and the players they drafted late and in the lower rounds needed “seasoning.” Now that Gary’s Cap has put everyone in the same boat, hopefully, the Wings will miss the playoffs for a couple of seasons and get some nice high picks in the draft lottery. Then you will see those players playing right away or spending minimal time in GR. (Then again, Babs would play a 65 year old Chelios over a rookie Seth Jones)

The point of contention appears to be that the posters here believe Tatar is a top 6 forward right now, today, while the coach of the team does not.

It’s not the old saw about Babcock screwing over a kid for a vet, since the kid is being replaced by another kid.

I mean, Tatar’s had a pretty decent bit of exposure here. He’s shown a little bit of offensive flair, great speed, but not much in the way of defensive awareness. He’s not awful defensively, but he hasn’t been playing many good offensive players yet either.

Most players have ideal roles. Andersson, for instance, is ideally suited to be a bottom 6’er. Tatar isn’t. Since Tatar hasn’t gotten the whole package to the point where he can be trusted out there against top 6 oppo, then why not switch him for a different player who most likely has so that Babcock can put Cleary or Abby back down in the bottom 6 where they belong?

I understand the frustration, I just think it’s being misplaced.

And also, as Mandingo among others have said, it’s a lot of agita over something that’s unlikely to have any real meaning. With or without Tatar playing in the top 6 this team isn’t very good right now, and once all the injured players come back (if they do) it’s not like Tatar was going to get a sniff of the top 6 by that point anyway..

The only thing that really bugs me about KH’s decisions is that he seems to be stuck in the middle. I agree with Mandingo. It’s time to make a very hard and cold assessment of this team, and be willing to sell guys off and do the rebuild. There are still good players in the cupboard. It doesn’t have to be an Edmonton-style rebuild. But something has to happen to improve the scoring depth, and more importantly, the defensive depth.

The good news is, the scoring depth can be improved internally in some ways by cutting bait with guys that are underachieving in top six forward roles (Filppula, Cleary), and getting the good forward prospects into those slots. Tatar has shown he can hang. Nyquist looks to be on the right track. A couple years on, Pulkkinen and Jurco could provide the same jolt. The main issue at forward is that these guys are top six players (top nine if you are fortunate enough to build a deep team and play your three scoring lines balanced). I can understand management’s hesitancy to dive in with these players, because they still want to win in the here and now, and they know the youngsters are prone to growing pains that make consistency difficult. But consistency hasn’t been here this season anyways. Seems like it is time to move forward and at least accept the inconsistency from players that have good reason to be inconsistent.

The bad news is, there’s not much hope organizationally on D. Smith looks like the real deal, and Lashoff has surprised me, looking like he could be a solid #4 or #5 for a lot of years. There is no bona-fide #1 D on this team right now, and there isn’t one in the organization at large. These players do not grow on trees. A true #1 D is so valuable that they rarely come up for trade, and rarely come up as UFAs, unless they have something wrong with them (are old, have a bad injury history, etc.). This guy almost definitely has to come from the draft. Or Smith has to finish the season really well, and continue trending up next year. Again, Smith looks good, but I’m not sure he looks like #1 material. Is he 27 minutes a night, in all situations?

hopefully, the Wings will miss the playoffs for a couple of seasons and get some nice high picks in the draft lottery

Blasphemy! How could you wish for such a thing? No reason a turn-around should take more than one offseason. KH played ultra-conservatively last offseason, banking on the fact that his cap could be pulled out from everyone before the season started, and he lost. This team isn’t so talent-bare as you say; as long as you’re not trading your first rounder every year for Quincey, having pick 19 like we would’ve had last year would not be much worse than whatever we would get this year if we did miss the playoffs. We’re a LONG ways away from being the 30th best team in the league.

About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: wphoulihan@gmail.com